Flexible Communication Systems and Methods

1. A method of initiating a telecommunication session for a communication device, comprising: receiving, at a communication device, input that indicates a request for the communication device to initiate a telecommunication session that is to begin automatically in response to the input; in response to receiving the input, submitting to one or more telecommunication carriers that are determined to be currently capable of communicating with the communication device, a proposal for the telecommunication session; in response to submitting the proposal, receiving from at least one of the one or more of telecommunication carriers a bid to carry the telecommunications session; automatically selecting one of the telecommunications carriers from the carriers submitting a bid; and automatically initiating the telecommunication session through the selected telecommunication carrier.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the communication device comprises a portable communication device, and wherein the proposal for a telecommunication session is submitted by the portable communication device.

3. The method of claim 2 , further comprising determining the present availability of the one or more of telecommunication carriers to the portable communication device.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the proposal is submitted only through access points that are currently within a wireless communication range of the communication device.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the telecommunication session comprises a voice call.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the telecommunication session comprises a non-voice data transmission.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the automatic selection of one of the telecommunication carriers comprises evaluation by the communication device of bid prices and quality indicators that indicate, at least, a level of available bandwidth currently provided by the telecommunication carriers.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the automatic selection of one of the telecommunication carriers comprises selecting a carrier that submits a lowest bid.

9. The method of claim 1 , further comprising: submitting to one or more telecommunication carriers a proposal for a second telecommunication session; receiving from at least one of the one or more of telecommunication carriers a bid to carry the second telecommunications session; automatically selecting one of the telecommunications carriers from the carriers submitting a bid; and automatically initiating the second telecommunication session through the selected telecommunication carrier.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein: the input further indicates that the request is for the communication device to initiate the telecommunication session with a particular endpoint device; and the proposal submitted to and the bids received from the telecommunication carriers are for the communication session between the communication device and the particular endpoint device.

11. The method of claim 9 , further comprising, before submitting the proposal for the second telecommunication session, determining whether the communication device is within a coverage area of a non-carrier network, and initiating a call over the non-carrier network if the communication device is within the coverage area of the non-carrier network.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the non-carrier network is an IP-based network.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the communication device accesses the IP-based network through a public access point.

14. The method of claim 13 , wherein the public access point includes an IEEE 802.16-compliant device.

15. The method of claim 13 , wherein the public access point includes an IEEE 802.11-compliant device.

16. The method of claim 13 , further comprising transferring the communication device to a second public access point during the second telecommunication session.

17. The method of claim 11 , further comprising transferring the communication device from the non-carrier network to a telecommunication carrier during the second telecommunication session in response to the communication device moving out of the coverage area of the non-carrier network.

18. The method of claim 14 , wherein (i) the proposal for the second telecommunication session is submitted, (ii) the bid to carry the second telecommunications session is received, and (iii) the one of the telecommunications carriers are selected as part of transferring the communication device from the non-carrier network to the telecommunication carrier during the second telecommunication session.

19. A device for initiating a telecommunication session based on bids from carriers, comprising: an interface to wirelessly connect the device to a plurality of data communication providers; a processor configured to execute a plurality of applications stored in memory on the device; and a connection module in communication with the processor to obtain carrier pricing information comprising bids from carriers, and to select a carrier for carrying at least a portion of a telecommunication session using the carrier pricing information, wherein the connection module obtains the carrier pricing information after receiving a request at the device for an initiation of the telecommunication session.

20. The device of claim 19 , wherein the interface is configured to perform data communication using three or more formats selected from the group consisting of GSM, CDMA, TDMA, IEEE 802.11, IEEE 802.16, and Bluetooth.

21. The device of claim 19 , wherein the connection module includes a signal monitor to determine the identity of available carriers in a region around the device.

22. The device of claim 19 , further comprising a voice module in communication with the processor for enabling voice communication on the device.

23. The device of claim 19 , further comprising a bid confirmer to verify to a telecommunication connection coordinator parameters of a completed telecommunication session.

24. The device of claim 19 , wherein: the request from the user includes information that identifies a particular endpoint device for the telecommunication session; and in response to receiving the request, the carrier pricing information obtained by the connection module is for the telecommunication session between the device and the particular endpoint device.

25. The device of claim 19 , wherein the communication module obtains carrier pricing information for, and selects the carrier for carrying at least the portion of the telecommunication session, from a group of carriers that are within a range of communication with the device.

26. A computer program product stored on a tangible computer readable storage medium comprising instructions for: receiving, at a communication device, input that indicates a request for the communication device to initiate a first telecommunication session that is to begin automatically in response to the input; in response to receiving the input, submitting to one or more telecommunication carriers that are determined to be currently capable of communicating with the communication device, a proposal for the first telecommunication session; in response to submitting the proposal, receiving from at least one of the one or more of telecommunication carriers a bid to carry the first telecommunications session; automatically selecting one of the telecommunications carriers from the carriers submitting a bid; and automatically initiating the telecommunication session through the selected telecommunication carrier.

27. The computer program product of claim 26 , wherein the communication device comprises a portable communication device, and wherein the computer program mechanism further comprises instructions for determining the availability of the one or more telecommunication carriers to the portable communication device.

28. The computer program product of claim 26 , wherein the telecommunication session comprises a voice call.

29. The computer program product of claim 26 , wherein the automatic selection of one of the telecommunication carriers comprises evaluation by the communication device of bid prices and quality indicators that indicate, at least, a level of available bandwidth currently provided by the telecommunication carriers.

30. The computer program product of claim 26 , wherein the computer program mechanism further comprises instructions for: submitting to one or more telecommunication carriers a proposal for a second telecommunication session; receiving from at least one of the plurality of telecommunication carriers a bid to carry the second telecommunications session; and automatically selecting one of the telecommunications carriers from the carriers submitting a bid, and initiating the second telecommunication session through the selected telecommunication carrier.

31. The computer program product of claim 30 , wherein the computer program mechanism further comprises instructions for determining, before submitting the proposal for the second telecommunication session, whether the communication device is within a range of communication with a non-carrier network, and initiating a call over the non-carrier network if the device is within the range of communication with the non-carrier network.

32. The computer program product of claim 30 , wherein the computer program mechanism further comprises instructions for transferring the communication device from the non-carrier network to a telecommunication carrier during the second telecommunication session in response to the communication device moving out of the range of communication with the non-carrier network.

33. The computer program product of claim 32 , wherein (i) the proposal for the second telecommunication session is submitted, (ii) the bid to carry the second telecommunications session is received, and (iii) the one of the telecommunications carriers is selected as part of transferring the communication device from the non-carrier network to the telecommunication carrier during the second telecommunication session.

34. A method of completing a telecommunication connection, comprising: receiving a signal indicating the presence of an incoming telecommunication request from a carrier directed to a telecommunication device; converting a first identifier of the telecommunication device in the signal to a second identifier of the telecommunication device; in response to receiving the incoming telecommunication request, polling a plurality of telecommunication carriers using the second identifier to (i) determine if the telecommunication device is accessible by the telecommunication carriers and (ii) obtain bids from the telecommunication carriers for carrying at least a portion of a telecommunication connection between the carrier and the telecommunication device; in response to polling the telecommunication carriers, receiving the bids from the telecommunication carriers; selecting one of the telecommunication carriers that has access to the telecommunication device to carry the telecommunication connection based on the received bids; and causing the completion of the telecommunication connection through the selected telecommunication carrier.

35. The method of claim 34 , wherein the act of causing the completion of the telecommunication connection comprises connecting a call from the carrier through an IP network to the telecommunication device.

36. The method of claim 34 , wherein the act of causing the completion of the telecommunication connection comprises transmitting a signal to redirect the carrier to a second carrier.

37. The method of claim 34 , wherein the act of causing the completion of the telecommunication connection comprises connecting a call from the carrier through an IP network to the telecommunication device if the device is determined to be accessible from the IP network, and otherwise transmitting a signal to redirect the carrier to a second carrier.

38. A method of completing a telecommunication connection, comprising: receiving a signal indicating the presence of an incoming telecommunication request from a carrier directed to a telecommunication device; converting a first identifier of the telecommunication device in the signal to a second identifier of the telecommunication device, wherein the first identifier of the telecommunication device is a telephone number and the second identifier of the telecommunication device is an electronic mail address; polling a plurality of telecommunication carriers to determine if the telecommunication device is accessible by the carriers; and causing the completion of the telecommunication connection through a telecommunication carrier that has access to the telecommunication device.

39. A computer-implemented method comprising: determining, during an active telecommunication session provided at least in part by a first telecommunication provider, that a communication device needs to change from the first telecommunication provider; in response to determining that the communication device needs to change from the first telecommunication provider, submitting to one or more second telecommunication providers that are determined to be currently capable of communicating with the communication device, a proposal to carry the telecommunication session; in response to submitting the proposal, receiving from at least one of the one or more of second telecommunication providers a bid to carry the telecommunications session; and automatically selecting one of the second telecommunication providers submitting a bid, and transferring the telecommunication session from the first telecommunication provider to the selected second telecommunication provider.

40. The method of claim 39 , wherein the first telecommunication provider provides in-network telecommunication services for the communication device, and wherein the second telecommunication provider provide out-of-network telecommunication services for the communication device.

41. The method of claim 39 , wherein the telecommunication session comprises a voice call.

42. The method of claim 39 , wherein the telecommunication session comprises a non-voice data transmission.

43. The method of claim 39 , wherein the automatic selection of one of the second telecommunication providers comprises selecting the second telecommunication provider that submits a lowest bid.